While you were sleeping: Saudi Arabia to allow movie theatre; a dog's breakfast of pacifiers

Article content

Saudi Arabia says it will allow movie theatres to open in the conservative kingdom next year, for the first time in more than 35 years. It’s the latest move as part of the young crown prince’s efforts to socially reform the country.

The kingdom says a resolution was passed on Monday paving way for licenses to be granted to commercial movie theatres. Theatres were shut down in the 1980s during a wave of ultraconservatism in the country.

Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has pushed for greater social openings, including lifting a ban on women driving next year and bringing back concerts and other forms of entertainment to satiate the desires of the country’s majority young population.

The government says the first cinemas are expected to open in March 2018.

Oklahoma veterinarian removes 21 pacifiers from dog’s belly: An Oklahoma mother and father couldn’t figure out what was happening to their child’s pacifiers until the baby’s grandmother saw the family dog swipe one off a counter.

One nauseous pooch and a trip to their veterinarian’s office confirmed the couple’s hunch: Dovey had 21 pacifiers lodged in her stomach.

The couple told the veterinarian Dovey had slowed her eating and was vomiting for a few days, but other than that, they thought she seemed fine.

KFOR-TV reports that at first, the veterinarian thought there were only seven to nine pacifiers in Dovey’s stomach, but the surgery proved otherwise.

Dovey is on the mend and has already gone home.

The veterinarian cautioned pet owners in a recent Facebook post that “dogs will eat anything, anytime and at any age.”

Wisconsin man fleeing police crashed while checking phone: Milwaukee prosecutors say a man who led police on a high-speed chased told arresting officers he crashed his minivan because he became distracted checking his cellphone for directions.

The Milwaukee District Attorney’s Office said in a criminal complaint released Friday that 20-year-old Logan Michael Brandenburg made the comment unsolicited while he was being transported from a hospital to the county jail.

Prosecutors say Brandenburg told officers he had smoked marijuana and was on probation so a “fight or flight mentality kicked in” when a West Allis police officer attempted to pull him over on Nov. 19.

Authorities say the chase reached speeds of 100 mph and involved four different police departments before Brandenburg’s minivan jumped a curb and plunged down an embankment.

Brandenburg is charged with two felonies.

The Associated Press